1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a visor assembly for a vehicle having a selectively positionable extender blade.
2. Background Art
Sun visors are provided in vehicles to shield an occupant""s eyes from sunlight or glare from an alternative light source. Visors are pivotally mounted to an overhead roof structure of a vehicle to shield the occupant""s vision from light entering through the window or windshield of the vehicle. Most conventional sun visors are constructed with fixed dimensions to provide a glare shield for the occupant. However, conventional visors do not cover the entire window or windshield, allowing light to enter around the outer perimeter of the sun visor, obstructing the occupant""s vision.
Sun visor manufacturers have incorporated an extender blade into the visor assembly to provide greater glare protection for the occupants of the vehicle. Extender blades are either provided as an attachment mounted to the outer periphery of the sun visor, or alternatively, are received within the sun visor housing. The extender blades are positionable between a stored position aligned or received within the visor and a deployed position wherein the blade extends away from the visor to a position adjacent a vehicle window or windshield.
Typically, sun visors are formed of a pair of housing members joined together about their respective outer peripheries to create a channel therebetween. An aperture is provided in the outer periphery of the visor housing which cooperates with the channel to receive the extender blade. In order to mount the extender blade within the sun visor assembly, prior art sun visor assemblies required extensive modifications to the inner periphery of the sun visor housing. For example, a series of fasteners or rails must either be attached to or formed on the inner surface of each housing member to receive and retain the extender blade. However, these type of mounting arrangements often are complex in design and costly to manufacture.
Further, plastic to plastic contact between the sun visor housing and extender blade produces undesirable operational noise and an unpleasant feel for the user when extending and retracting the extender blade. It is desirable to eliminate the problems associated with the design, manufacture and operation of prior art sun visor assemblies by providing a sun visor assembly having a simple mounting and receiving arrangement for a selectively positionable extender blade.
The present invention overcomes the above-referenced problems by providing a visor assembly for a passenger compartment of a vehicle having a visor housing and an extender blade received within the visor housing being movable between a retracted position and a extended position. The visor assembly includes a visor housing having a pair of spaced apart walls defining an outer surface, an inner surface and a cavity therebetween. In one aspect of the invention, the pair of spaced apart walls are formed as a single clamshell housing having a common axis which the pair of spaced apart walls are folded about to secure the walls together. In another aspect of the invention, the pair of spaced apart walls are formed as independent structures joined to form the visor housing.
The spaced apart walls define an aperture in the outer surface of the visor housing cooperating with the cavity to receive an extender blade. The extender blade is positionable between a retracted position received within the cavity of the visor housing and a extended position extending away from the outer surface of the visor housing to reduce the amount of light or glare entering into the interior of the vehicle.
At least one lower receiving member is provided on the inner surface of the visor housing to support a bottom surface of the extender blade. A stop extends from an upper portion of the at least one receiving member to limit the inward travel of the extender blade into the inner surface of the visor housing. In one aspect of the invention, the at least one lower receiving member comprises an elongate rail mounted to or integrally formed on the inner wall of at least one of the spaced apart walls. Alternatively, the at least one lower receiving member includes a series of projections mounted to or integrally formed on the inner wall of at least one of the spaced apart walls, wherein the upper portion of each of the projections are aligned to support the lower surface of the extender blade.
At least one upper receiving member is provided on the inner surface of the visor housing adjacent a top edge to engage and a top surface of the extender blade. A stop is formed on the at least one upper receiving member to engage a portion of the extender blade to limit the outward travel of the extender blade from the visor housing. In one aspect of the invention, the at least one upper receiving member comprises a pair of arms extending away from the lower end of a D-ring of the visor housing. Each of the pair of arms includes a lower surface extending generally parallel to the at least one lower receiving surface to engage the upper surface of the extender blade. The pair of arms are mounted to or integrally formed as part of the D-ring of the visor housing. In another aspect of the invention, a single projection is connected to or formed as part of the D-ring to engage and retain the upper surface of the extender blade. A spring member extending from a lower portion of the at least one upper receiving member biases against the top surface of the extender blade to retain the blade within the inner surface of the visor housing and to guide the blade between the retracted and extended positions.
The above objects and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.